Is one of the Burgas terror suspects actively using Facebook?

Hezbollah operatives Meliad Farah, left; and Hassan El Hajj Hassan, right.

On July 25, Bulgarian authorities released the names and photos of two Hezbollah operatives, Hassan el Hajj Hassan and Meliad Farah, who are wanted in connection with the July 2012 terror attack in Burgas that killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian national. Subsequent press reports have made a few new claims regarding the suspects, whose names were known to investigators since at least February, such as that the suspects received $100,000 in money transfers from Hezbollah and that they smuggled parts of the bomb on a train from Poland.

Yet an interesting detail about the elder suspect appears to have gone relatively unnoticed. Farah, an Australian national who is believed to have built the bomb in Bulgaria, may still be active on Facebook as authorities search for him.

One Facebook account possibly attributable to Farah states that the user studied at the Lebanese International University (LIU) and lives in Australia. According to press reports, the printer utilized to create the forged licenses carried by the Hezbollah cell responsible for the Burgas terror attack was based at LIU, where the suspects are said to have studied engineering.

The user of this account, who has 'liked' an array of celebrities and athletes, including Usher and David Beckham, appears to have used online chat services, such as Tohla and Omegle, among others. The user of the account was also involved in online poker via Facebook.

Interestingly, none of the publicly available photos linked to the account provides a match to the photo released by Bulgarian authorities. In fact, the user has used photos of Turkish actor Necati ?a?maz and Iranian actor Mostafa Zamani as profile pictures. A photo of Zamani is currently adopted as the user's profile picture.

The last public activity for this account, which has 62 friends, was today, July 29, when the user became friends with a few women based in Bulgaria, including at least one in Burgas.

A second account potentially tied to the wanted Meliad Farah shares a few Facebook friends with the first account. In addition, the account, which says Farah is married, lists his hometown and current location as Sydney, Australia.

Coincidentally, the second account, which currently has 65 friends and 'liked' a page about the AK-47, has uploaded a few of the same photos used by the first Meliad Farah account.

The user also appears to have played online poker via Facebook similar to the first account. In addition, the second account 'liked' a number of the same pages as the first account. The second account 'liked' nearly twice as many pages as did the first suspect account, however, including one honoring former Hezbollah spiritual guide Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah.

Also, while the first account used a photo of Iranian actor Mostafa Zamani as its profile picture, the second account appears to use a photo of the aforementioned Necati ?a?maz.

Of further note is the fact that the second account, which was used as recently as July 26, became friends lately with a number of women in Bulgaria, at least one of whom is also friend of the first account. It is also eye-catching that a couple of the friends of the second account have hardcore Hezbollah material on their own Facebook accounts.

Finally, a third account potentially tied to Farah, who allegedly returned to Lebanon a day before the attack in Burgas, was started on June 12, 2012. Within a day of starting the account, the user changed its profile picture to an image seen on a number of websites and videos sympathetic to Hezbollah.

This account appears to have taken greater steps to limit how much of the profile can be viewed by the public, so not much else can be gleaned.

While it is currently close to impossible to definitively say that any of these accounts are tied to the Meliad Farah wanted in connection with the Burgas terror attack, there are lots of coincidences.

Almost too many.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LongWarJournalSiteWide/~3/j-Av2z0nee8/is_one_of_the_burgas_terror_su.php

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Win a Sony Xperia Tablet Z case just by being friendly!

It?s Coolsmartphone competition time again! Yay! This week we?re giving away the two Sony Xperia Tablet Z cases that we?ve recently reviewed.

Seeing as I?m in in charge of this competition it has to be really simple, so all you have to do is read the reviews of the Zenus Masstige case (worth ?44.95) and the Tabletwear Advanced case (worth ?19.95) because they?re dead good (even though I wrote them!), then write a comment on those articles or any post on the site that?s published between today (25th July 2013) and Saturday 3rd August 2013.

Every comment will get an entry, so the more you comment the more likely you are to win!

The two winners will be drawn out of my ridiculously camp cowboy hat and announced on Monday.

Rules: Spam, inappropriate comments and trolling will result in the removal of your entries.
Coolsmartphone contributors? comments will not be entered into the draw.
Winners will be announced in an article on Monday 5th August 2013. It will then be up to the winners to contact Coolsmartphone with their postal address details.
Entries limited to UK only. Apologies to our international readers.

Go forth and natter?

About Ronnie Whelan

I work in IT and marketing, I spend my spare money on smartphones and tablets. My friends have grown weary of my fascination with mobile technology, so I write about it in the hope that someone out there is as obsessed as me? and it seems there is. Welcome to my world.

My current devices are: Oppo Find 5, Samsung Galaxy Note, Samsung Ativ S and a Huawei G300.

Follow me http://twitter.com/ronnie_whelan or email me at [email?protected]

Source: http://www.coolsmartphone.com/2013/07/26/win-a-sony-xperia-tablet-z-case-just-by-being-friendly/

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Microsoft sets Xbox One game prices at ?50 in UK

Microsoft already announced first-party Xbox One games will retail for $59.99 in the U.S., and now the U.K. price has been formally confirmed at??49.99.

The U.K. Microsoft Store lists upcoming games such as "Ryse: Son of Rome," "Dead Rising 3" and "Forza Motorsport 5" as all being priced at??49.99. That price shouldn't be too surprising, as it's the same as Xbox 360 game prices in the country. Previous speculation hoped Microsoft would drop prices, however, as U.S. $59.99 converts to less than??39.99 in U.K. currency based on current exchange rates, though the U.K.'s value-added tax is included in prices prior to checkout while sales taxes are added during checkout in the U.S..

Also noteworthy is the fact that Kinect-only games, such as "Kinect Sports Rivals," will share the same price point as regular games in both the U.S. and U.K. Kinect-only games for the Xbox 360 cost less than regular titles?? in the U.S., Kinect games for the Xbox 360 cost $49.99 versus the $59.99 price of regular releases. The change is likely due to the fact that Microsoft is pushing developers to make use of the next-generation Kinect that comes bundled with every Xbox One console, blurring the lines between what is a "Kinect game."

Sony has yet to announce prices for PlayStation 4 games, though Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony's U.S. business, previously said prices would top out at $60 in the U.S. Tretton said prices would range from 99 cents up to that price point.

The Xbox One is scheduled to launch in the U.S. and U.K. sometime in November. In the U.S., the Xbox One will cost $499, while it will cost??429 in the U.K.

Source: Microsoft via The Official Xbox Magazine (U.K.)

Source: http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-sets-xbox-one-game-prices-at-50-in-uk

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Anthony Weiner: Why his wife stands by him

Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 and apologized for the explicit text messages. Now a candidate for the mayor of New York City, Anthony Weiner is apologizing again, this time with his wife beside him.

By Jonathan Lemire,?Associated Press / July 24, 2013

New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner glances at his wife, Huma Abedin, as she speaks during a news conference Tuesday, July 23, 2013, in New York.

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Enlarge

When a heckled, harried Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress and apologized for the explicit text messages that had destroyed his career, a key figure was notably absent: his then-pregnant wife, Huma Abedin.

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On Tuesday, there was Weiner again, making a public mea culpa for a newfound sexting scandal that erupted amid the mayoral run he hopes will rewrite his political future. But the Democrat was there to stay in, not bow out ? and Abedin was by his side.

"I love him, I have forgiven him, I believe in him," and the sexting matter is "between us," she said, a message that could prove important to shaping voters' views as they digest his latest admission.

After the gossip website The Dirty posted X-rated text messages and a crotch shot that it said the former congressman exchanged with an unidentified woman, Weiner acknowledged sending such messages as recently as last summer, more than a year after he resigned from the House because of similar behavior with at least a half-dozen women. With Abedin smiling at his side, he said at a news conference that "this is entirely behind me," and both made it clear they were moving ahead with his campaign.

"I want to bring my vision to the people of the city of New York. I hope they are willing to still continue to give me a second chance," a collected Weiner said. Then he went on to talk policy at a candidate forum on gay men's issues, where he was warmly received.

Weiner, 48, has been near the top of most polls since his late entry into the race in May. The latest disclosures could severely test voters' willingness to forgive him. The New York Times, the Daily News and some of his mayoral rivals called on him to drop out of the race.

But Abedin's visible support may help him win voters' approval, too.

"I don't think it's a good sign" that Weiner's behavior continued even after his resignation, said Andrew Taub, 22, who works in the venture capital arena. "But I do believe for some people looking for a sign, for something to bolster his campaign, (the fact that Abedin is staying with him) says a lot."

Still, the disclosure suddenly puts Weiner's indiscretions, judgment and candor back in the forefront of his campaign, and political analysts say it could be damaging: "It makes it tougher to believe this is behind him," said Democratic former state Assemblyman Michael Benjamin, now a political consultant.

And some voters who were open-minded about a second chance may not be able to stomach a third.

"He had a chance to redeem himself, and if he did it twice, he really betrayed the public's trust again," Jeremy Green said. "I think he's past the point of no return."

Weiner and Abedin, however, sought to cast the newly revealed messages as nothing really new. "I said that other texts and photos were likely to come out, and today they have," Weiner said. In a sign of how much he was projecting taking the messages in stride, he added that he was surprised that more hadn't come out sooner.

Abedin said her husband had made some "horrible mistakes both before he resigned from Congress and after" but insisted she and her husband discussed "all of this" before he jumped into the mayor's race in May. Seeming a bit choked with emotion, she noted that she had chosen to stay in the marriage, but "it was not an easy choice."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Vr0p9aalYSA/Anthony-Weiner-Why-his-wife-stands-by-him

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Religion in the American Family in the 1950s ? Justin Taylor

For the majority of us, our knowledge of the American family in the 1950s is almost entirely mediated through popular culture. It?s sometimes hard to understand how the idyllic home life of the Baby Boomers in the 1950s turned into the counter-cultural revolution of the 1960s, though if we know the economy of the gospel, we know that moralism is often the mother of?licentiousness.

We still find Christians today, however, pining for the supposed golden age of the 1950s.

D. G. Hart, reviewing Mary Eberstadt?s How the West Really Lost God, makes a helpful point on the religious life of American families in the 1950s:

That post-war family may now be forever tarnished by such maudlin television shows as ?Leave It to Beaver? or ?Ozzie and Harriet.? Even if those network families did not depict accurately the virtues of white, middle-class, suburban families (who never seemed to go to church), the Christianity of the 1950?s that blessed those families is not one that Eberstadt should use to support her case. For Protestants it was a time of neo-orthodoxy lite?more Niebuhr than Barth?when the American way of life (freedom and democracy)?not faith and repentance or word and sacrament?was synonymous with Protestantism. The situation among Roman Catholics was better but not by much. As Roman Catholics (in the United States at least) left behind their ghettos for suburban parishes, they assimilated American norms in ways that prepared the way for Vatican II?s engagement with the modern world, a posture that significantly undercut rationales for becoming a priest, nun, or monk. Of course, the families of the 1950?s were as responsible for increasing membership in conservative as in liberal churches. But in the case of liberal Christian families, domestic ties could not withstand the baby-boomers loss of faith.

. . .?If the family ever becomes more important to the conservative Protestant wing of ?family values? voters than the gospel and the Christian ministry, then what happened to 1950?s churches and families could well be the fate of Christian defenders of the family.

Copyright ? 2013 by the author listed above. Used by permission.

Source: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2013/07/23/religion-in-the-american-family-in-the-1950s/

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One killed in attack on pro-Mursi protest in Cairo: state news website

CAIRO (Reuters) - One man was killed and 15 people were injured in an attack against a protest by hundreds of supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi near Cairo University early Tuesday morning, a state-run news website said.

Al-Ahram Online said police fired tear gas to quell the violence and several cars in the area were destroyed or set on fire.

Police sources said hundreds of pro-Mursi supporters clashed with local residents, street vendors and others near Cairo University's main campus in Giza province, south of Cairo. They said gunshots were fired and stones were thrown during the incident.

One person was killed and around 20 were injured on Monday in clashes between Mursi supporters and opponents in central Cairo. Around 100 have been killed since the army overthrew Mursi, elected last year, on July 3 after mass protests.

The Muslim Brotherhood said on the Facebook page of its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), which Mursi headed before he was elected president in June 2012, that five were killed in Tuesday's clashes.

"Leaders of the military coup continue to terrorize the peaceful protesters in Egypt," the FJP said in a statement in English.

The Brotherhood accuses the army of orchestrating a coup that has exposed deep political divisions in the Arab world's most populous and influential nation.

FJP said the ministers of defense and interior, whom it called "the leaders of the coup," would be held responsible for any future attempts to evacuate the Brotherhood protest areas.

Mursi's supporters are maintaining a round-the-clock vigil, now in its third week, in a Cairo suburb. They say they will continue until Mursi, held by the army in an unknown location since his ouster, is reinstated.

Some residents close to the Brotherhood's main protest area in Nasr City have filed a complaint with the public prosecutor asking for the removal of the protesters, who they say are disturbing their lives.

An informed security source said the case is expected to be taken to a court and ruled upon soon "to give the army a legal basis to end the protests."

(Reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Ahmed Tolba; Writing by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/one-killed-attack-pro-mursi-protest-cairo-state-024744316.html

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White House, Senate Democrat at Odds Over Energy Revenue Sharing

If the Senate increases energy-revenue sharing for coastal states, it will do so without the?support of the Obama administration -- and likely after a debate that pits interior states against?their coastal counterparts in the fight for federal dollars.

For the White House, the measure to reallocate 37.5 percent of energy?revenues to coastal states poses a deficit challenge, according to Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Pamela Haze, who said the U.S. Treasury would lose more than $5 billion if the bill became law.

She cited sequestration, saying the proposal from Democrat Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska would stress an already reduced federal budget.

That did nothing to quash the senators? anger over the Obama administration?s position. Landrieu and Murkowski grilled Haze, noting the revenue sharing granted to interior states for coal and?gas revenues is about 50 percent.

?Is it the Department?s intention to perpetuate a double?standard?? Landrieu asked.

When Haze said the administration is not explicitly opposing?the bill, but simply ?cannot support it,? Landrieu cut her off. ?It?s the same thing,? the senator said.

Haze did not address the discrepancy in revenue sharing for interior states, stating only that the administration??would continue revenue sharing based on existing law.?

Murkowski responded, ?Right now, you?have a double standard.?

While Republican Sen. John Barrasso from landlocked Wyoming pushed back against the double standard argument, his GOP colleague Tim Scott,?R-S.C., argued for more Atlantic energy development. ?Unfortunately, it seems unless we do it?legislatively, the Atlantic will never be included ? in energy production,? Scott said. ?It would only?be appropriate and fair if the Atlantic states got the same 37.5 percent revenue sharing as Gulf?states.?

Landrieu added an emotional appeal in her questioning of Haze. ?After losing 1,400 lives in the?devastating floodwaters of Katrina and Rita ? I find it tragic the administration?s position on?this issue, and seemingly heartless considering the issues before the Gulf Coast states.? While?interior states have no requirements for conservation spending for their energy revenue funds,?Landrieu said, the proposal revenues for coastal states have such a mandate built in.

Committee Chairman Ron Wyden?s statement on the bill expressed a desire for more?information. ?I?m anxious to learn more about the substance of the bill, and the economic and?environmental benefits,? Wyden said. He said he wished the committee could start with a "clean slate" rather than comparing previous states' precedents. But, of course, coastal states that feel they aren't getting their fair share are unlikely to overlook the funding allocated to their landlocked counterparts.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Murkowski's political party affiliation.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-senate-democrat-odds-over-energy-revenue-175440788.html

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Royal Baby Boy Arrives, Twitter Reacts With Joy, Humor

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/07/royal-baby-boy-arrives-twitter-reacts-with-joy-humor/

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Matchmaker, matchmaker: Roy Nelson and Daniel Cormier among the fights made

The matchmakers of the MMA world have been busy lately, so let's see what they have done.

-- Roy Nelson has re-signed with the UFC and agreed to a fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 166 in Houston. The Houston Chronicle reports it's the co-main event for the fight card headlined by Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos for the heavyweight belt. Cormier and Nelson have been jawing at each other for weeks, and Cormier even drew up a "fight contract" for their bout.

-- Pat Healy's suspension for testing positive for marijuana is up this week. His next fight is also set. Healy will fight undefeated lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 165 in September.

-- Kurt Pellegrino retired after his 2011 loss to Patricky Freire in Bellator. He is coming out of retirement to fight Saul Almeida at a Bellator show in Atlantic City in November.

Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Fighter mocks Steven Seagal for horning in
? Anthony Pettis rips Benson Henderson's style
? UFC on Fox 8 fight predictions

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/matchmaker-matchmaker-roy-nelson-daniel-cormier-among-fights-124158434.html

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Scientific experiment creates a wave frozen in time

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Scientists have created, in a laboratory, a static pipeline wave, with a crest that moves neither forward nor backward. This research will allow improvement in boat and seaport designs and will enable analysis of how carbon dioxide exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere occurs.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/nBRf7Fwa9wU/130722105601.htm

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Skipping breakfast may increase heart attack risk

ATLANTA (AP) ? Another reason to eat breakfast: Skipping it may increase your chances of a heart attack.

A study of older men found those who regularly skipped breakfast had a 27 percent higher risk of a heart attack than those who ate a morning meal. There's no reason why the results wouldn't apply to other people, too, the Harvard researchers said.

Other studies have suggested a link between breakfast and obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health problems seen as precursors to heart problems.

"But no studies looked at long-term risk of heart attack," said Eric Rimm, one of the study authors at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Why would skipping breakfast be a heart attack risk?

Experts aren't certain, but here's what they think: People who don't eat breakfast are more likely to be hungrier later in the day and eat larger meals. Those meals mean the body must process a larger amount of calories in a shorter amount of time. That can spike sugar levels in the blood and perhaps lead to clogged arteries.

But is a stack of syrupy pancakes, greasy eggs and lots of bacon really better than eating nothing?

The researchers did not ask what the study participants ate for breakfast, and were not prepared to pass judgment on whether a fatty, sugary breakfast is better than no breakfast at all.

Other experts agreed that it's hard to say.

"We don't know whether it's the timing or content of breakfast that's important. It's probably both," said Andrew Odegaard, a University of Minnesota researcher who has studied a link between skipping breakfast and health problems like obesity and high blood pressure.

"Generally, people who eat breakfast tend to eat a healthier diet," he added.

The new research was released Monday by the journal Circulation. It was an observational study, so it's not designed to prove a cause and effect. But when done well, such studies can reveal important health risks.

The researchers surveyed nearly 27,000 men about their eating habits in 1992. About 13 percent of them said they regularly skipped breakfast. They all were educated health professionals ? like dentists and veterinarians ? and were at least 45.

Over the next 16 years, 1,527 suffered fatal or non-fatal heart attacks, including 171 who had said they regularly skipped breakfast.

In other words, over 7 percent of the men who skipped breakfast had heart attacks, compared to nearly 6 percent of those who ate breakfast.

The researchers calculated the increased risk at 27 percent, taking into account other factors like smoking, drinking, diet and health problems like high blood pressure and obesity.

As many as 18 percent of U.S. adults regularly skip breakfast, according to federal estimates. So the study could be important news for many, Rimm said.

"It's a really simple message," he said. "Breakfast is an important meal."

___

Online:

Circulation: http://circ.ahajournals.org/

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/skipping-breakfast-may-increase-heart-attack-risk-210037837.html

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'Alarming' rise in children injured by falling TVs

CHICAGO (AP) ? Falling televisions sent nearly 200,000 U.S. children to the emergency room over 20 years and the injury rate has climbed substantially for these sometimes deadly accidents, a study found.

Doctors and safety experts say better awareness is needed about the dangers ? especially the risks of putting heavier, older model TV sets on top of dressers and other furniture young children may try to climb on.

Most injuries are in kids under 5; head and neck injuries including concussions are the most common.

"This is a problem that is increasing at an alarming rate," said lead author Dr. Gary Smith, a pediatric emergency specialist and president of the Child Injury Prevention Alliance in Columbus, Ohio.

Smith said it is unclear from the data what type of TV sets are involved in the accidents or whether older, heavier models are the most common culprit.

The study was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

In 2011, 12,300 children nationwide got ER treatment for TV-related injuries, compared with 5,455 in 1990. The injury rate nearly doubled, from 0.85 injuries per 10,000 children aged 17 and younger in 1990 to 1.66 per 10,000 in 2011, the study found.

The researchers examined national ER data on non-fatal television-related injuries to kids from 1990-2011. In many cases, the set had been placed on a dresser and the child used open drawers as stairs to climb up and reach the TV, toppling it.

Over those two decades, 215 children died from these injuries, government data show, and news reports indicate that since January 2012, at least six young children have been killed nationwide by falling TVs.

Scott Wolfson, spokesman for the government's Consumer Product Safety Commission, said as flat screen TVs have become more popular, many families move heavier old TVs to bedrooms, placing them on dressers or other unsteady furniture not designed to hold them.

The commission urges parents to anchor furniture to the wall or floor with brackets or other specially designed tethers. TVs also should be anchored to sturdy surfaces, the commission recommends.

___

Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org

Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://www.cpsc.gov

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alarming-rise-children-injured-falling-tvs-041929869.html

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UN group to issue warning about mobile phone hacking

Mobile

Jim Finkle Reuters

15 hours ago

NBC News

Experts say a potential security vulnerability has been found in some types of SIM cards, which are used in a wide variety of mobile devices.

BOSTON ? A U.N. group that advises nations on cybersecurity plans to send out an alert about significant vulnerabilities in mobile phone technology that could let hackers attack at least half a billion phones.

The bug, discovered by a German firm, lets hackers gain remote control and clone certain types of mobile SIM cards.

Hackers could use the compromised SIMs to commit financial crimes or engage in electronic espionage, according to Berlin's Security Research Labs, which will describe the vulnerabilities at the Black Hat hacking conference opening in Las Vegas on July 31.

The United Nations' Geneva-based International Telecommunications Union, which has reviewed the research, described it as "hugely significant."

"These findings show us where we could be heading in terms of cybersecurity risks," ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Tour? told Reuters.

He said the agency would notify telecommunications regulators and other government agencies in nearly 200 countries about the potential threat, and also reach out to hundreds of mobile companies, academics and other industry experts.

A spokeswoman for the GSMA, which represents nearly 800 mobile operators worldwide, said it also reviewed the research. "We have been able to consider the implications and provide guidance to those network operators and SIM vendors that may be impacted," said GSMA spokeswoman Claire Cranton.

Nicole Smith, a spokeswoman for Gemalto NV, the world's biggest maker of SIM cards, said her company supported GSMA's response.

"Our policy is to refrain from commenting on details relating to our customers' operations," she said.

Becoming the SIM
Cracking SIM cards has long been a holy grail for hackers, because the tiny devices are located in phones and allow operators to identify and authenticate subscribers as they use networks.

Karsten Nohl, the chief scientist who led the research team and will reveal the details at Black Hat, said the hacking only works on SIMs that use an old encryption technology known as DES. Nohl said he conservatively estimates that at least 500 million phones are vulnerable to the attacks he will discuss at Black Hat. He added that the number could grow if other researchers start looking into the issue and find other ways to exploit the same class of vulnerabilities.

The ITU estimates that 6 billion mobile phones are in use worldwide. It plans to work with the industry to identify how to protect vulnerable devices from attack, Tour? said.

Once a hacker copies a SIM, it can be used to make calls and send text messages impersonating the owner of the phone, said Nohl, who has a doctorate in computer engineering from the University of Virginia.

"We become the SIM card. We can do anything the normal phone users can do," Nohl said in a phone interview. "If you have a MasterCard number or PayPal data on the phone, we get that too," if it is stored on the SIM.

The newly identified attack method only grants access to data stored on the SIM, which means payment applications that store their secrets outside of the SIM card are not vulnerable to this particular hacking approach. Yet Nohl warned that when data is stored outside of a SIM card it could fall victim to a large range of other already known vulnerabilities, which is what has prompted the industry to put payment information on SIMs in the first place.

All types of phones vulnerable
The mobile industry has spent several decades defining common identification and security standards for SIMs to protect data for mobile payment systems and credit card numbers. SIMs are also capable of running apps.

Nohl said Security Research Labs found mobile operators in many countries whose phones were vulnerable, but declined to identify them. He said mobile phone users in Africa could be among the most vulnerable because banking is widely done via mobile payment systems with credentials stored on SIMs.

All types of phones are vulnerable, including iPhones from Apple, phones that run Google's Android software and BlackBerry smartphones, he said.

BlackBerry's director of security response and threat analysis, Adrian Stone, said in a statement that his company proposed new SIM card standards last year to protect against the types of attacks described by Nohl, which the GSMA has adopted and advised members to implement.

Apple and Google declined comment.

CTIA, a U.S. mobile industry trade group based in Washington, said the new research likely posed no immediate threat. "We understand the vulnerability and are working on it," said CTIA Vice President John Marinho. "This is not what hackers are focused on. This does not seem to be something they are exploiting."

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663301/s/2ef917af/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cun0Egroup0Eissue0Ewarning0Eabout0Emobile0Ephone0Ehacking0E6C10A699399/story01.htm

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Two 2000 NBA title rings Kobe Bryant gave to his mom dad sold at auction on Saturday Joe Bryants ring fetched 174184 whil...

SbB LIVE FROM LA (Jul 21, 2013 @ 5:13am ET)

8:00 PM: Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin tweeted on Saturday: "44 years ago today Neil (Armstrong) took this photo of me at Tranquility Base on the moon. We all miss you Neil."

7:45 PM: A New York Mets fan at Citi Field just missed getting smacked in the face by a flying bat that flew out of the hands of Anthony Recker during Saturday's game against the Phillies.

7:30 PM: Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad said on Friday that he doesn't plan on firing manager Ron Gardenhire during the season: "I'm not going to put Gardy out of his misery. I don't think he's miserable. He's got a great job and we love him."

7:15 PM: About 900 people attended Friday's funeral of Jon Richardson, son of Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson & former president of Bank of America Stadium. Among those attending were Roger Goodell, Jerry Jones & Robert Kraft.

7:00 PM: Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes that New York Giants safety Will Hill became the fourth member of the 2008 Florida Gators BCS title team to be suspended for violating NFL drug policies.

6:45 PM: Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, ex-wife of Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade, sat outside Chicago's Daley Center on Friday holding a sign that read: "NBA Miami Heat star, mother of his children on the streets".

6:30 PM: Arizona State University president Michael Crow disagrees with allowing for-profit Grand Canyon University to move up to NCAA Division I this season: "We are against using athletics as a mechanism to make profits. It's contrary to what we're trying to do."

6:15 PM: Charles Barkley said on Friday about the Philadelphia 76ers' prolonged search for a coach: "I think that's one of the silliest things that I've seen in sports in a long time .... To not have a coach under contract by now, I think that's a joke. I don't know what they're waiting on."

6:00 PM: Hay Beautiful, a horse scheduled to compete in a race at Meadowlands Racetrack Friday night, had to be euthanized after suffering serious injuries in a trailer accident on Interstate 80 near Parsippany, New Jersey.

5:45 PM: Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said in a radio interview Friday about the team's first-half season success: "Don't bark if you're not going to bite. And we're in a position now where we can bite .... We've been able to show other people we're a team of action."

5:30 PM: St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain.

5:15 PM: NASCAR announced Friday it is suspending the use of aerial cameras after 10 people were injured when a Fox Sports cable snapped during a race in Charlotte two months ago.

5:00 PM: Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman tweeted on Saturday about last year's movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado: "One year ago my hometown Aurora was victim of a terrible tragedy. My prayers are with the victims families. #5280Strong #NeverForget"

4:45 PM: MLB.com notes that as of Saturday morning, the Seattle Mariners have homered in 23 straight games. The MLB record streak is 27 games set by the 2002 Texas Rangers.

4:30 PM: Fans at Wrigley Field for Friday's Pearl Jam concert had to deal with a 2 1/2 hour rain delay, which led to the show not ending until 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

Source: http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/sbblive?eid=54207

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G20 finance ministers aim for more growth, job creation | iPolitics

MOSCOW ? The Group of 20?s finance ministers said Saturday their countries consider strengthening economic growth and creating jobs to be top priorities.

In a communique at the end of their meeting in Moscow, the ministers noted that although there are signs of stronger economies in the United States and Japan, the group of 17 European Union countries that use the euro continues to suffer from recession and that economic growth in emerging markets is comparatively slow.

The ministers also said they were ?mindful of the risks and unintended negative side effects of extended periods of monetary easing.? They did not directly address the situation in the U.S., where speculation that the Federal Reserve may soon wind down its bond-buying program has roiled markets around the world ? [...]

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Source: http://www.ipolitics.ca/2013/07/20/g20-finance-ministers-aim-for-more-growth-job-creation/

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WELCOME TO THE MOST CREATIVE RESTAURANT IN CHINA In Chengdu, Asia?s first UN...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152084601695166&set=a.229251890165.179354.153794005165&type=1

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Game Added: Madden NFL 25

Forum Posts: 15299

Comment #1 by The Pants Party [STAFF]

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 07:04:50 AM

Go Lions!

Haven't played a Madden in like five years though.

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Forum Posts: 187

Comment #2 by yoda12320

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 07:09:09 AM

first achievement kinect ftw!

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Forum Posts: 265

Comment #3 by I X I Shock I

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 08:19:24 AM

Haha pants, pretty much the same. Last one I bought was 07, can't wait to get back into Madden though.

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Forum Posts: 420

Comment #4 by Thai J

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 08:21:35 AM

Looks like kind of a pain in the ass.

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Forum Posts: 187

Comment #5 by yoda12320

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 08:29:26 AM

@4 13 is... this looks like an easy 1k gs.

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Forum Posts: 5

Comment #6 by neolego

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 09:37:48 AM

I am holding out for this game on XONE. Does anyone know if this will be the same achievement list for Xbox One?

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Forum Posts: 428

Comment #7 by Bistric

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 10:26:11 AM

Seems this year's focus is on Ultimate Team. I hope they make it a bit better to navigate, last year's was very confusing, me being used to a streamlined Fifa UT.
Also only one career to go through, shaving hundreds of hours of 13's grind.

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Forum Posts: 80

Comment #8 by Fozki Razormaid

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 12:39:00 PM

Looks better than last years

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Forum Posts: 2912

Comment #9 by Rep

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 12:58:19 PM

I was addicted to MUT on Madden 12 and 13, so I'm glad they added more achievements to the mode. The achievements in this game are nothing compared to Madden 2013. 2013's connected careers were a huge grind.

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Forum Posts: 15299

Comment #10 by The Pants Party [STAFF]

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 01:54:15 PM

@6: They have not announced any info on how games released on both systems will work achievement-wise. We assume there will be two separate lists with the Xbox One version being a fancy cloud updatable one and the Xbox 360 version being a normal static version with DLC updates if applicable.

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Forum Posts: 13

Comment #11 by G4M3 CHANGER

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 02:46:01 PM

Getting for Xbone glad to see some more online achievements just wish they had more as I usually play online only so I want to get some achievements while I'm doing so. Win 100 games should have been one, maybe Xbone will have a different list but probably not.

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Forum Posts: 187

Comment #12 by Simlaurel

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 04:09:19 PM

Way too many MUT (Madden Ultimate Transactions) on that list.

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Forum Posts: 3336

Comment #13 by Capn Doug

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 06:19:58 PM

Looking like this list has better balance than the previous games. Looking like an easy 1000 but not necessarily a quick one. Might have to look into getting this for the X1, since my library won't exactly be large.

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Forum Posts: 1

Comment #14 by TheGreatKoala

Friday, July 19, 2013 @ 06:57:10 PM

#5, no it actually looks to be the same as last time. I think a lot of people missed the long ass list at the bottom which is going to just as much fun(in other words, not at all fun) as last years

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Forum Posts: 187

Comment #15 by yoda12320

Saturday, July 20, 2013 @ 01:24:37 AM

@14 sim ftw :P

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Forum Posts: 31

Comment #16 by sicsonic

Saturday, July 20, 2013 @ 03:45:52 AM

@1

How is your post any different from when those people post "first" posts? Aren't you an admin here?

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Forum Posts: 15299

Comment #17 by The Pants Party [STAFF]

Saturday, July 20, 2013 @ 08:21:12 AM

@16: I'm a Super Mod, but yeah. I was excited to see my boy Barry on the cover, so I commented on it. It's different because the people who post "first" just post "first" but I commented on the game and my experience with the franchise as a whole. I hope that clears up how my post was different from people who only write "first" as their post!

---

Source: http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news-3219-Game-Added--Madden-NFL-25.html

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Farrah Abraham: Who is Trayvon Martin?!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/07/farrah-abraham-who-is-trayvon-martin/

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Detroit raced to file bankruptcy ahead of move to block it

By Deepa Seetharaman and Karen Pierog

DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit's historic municipal bankruptcy filing on Thursday came less than 10 minutes before lawyers for the city's pension funds and retirees had rushed to another court to try to block it.

The bare bones bankruptcy petition, which came at 4:06:22 p.m., blindsided everyone in the room, according to two lawyers who were in state court in Lansing, Michigan, at the time. Even the lawyer representing the governor and the judge were caught unaware.

"I think everybody was surprised," said Bill Wertheimer, an attorney for a group of current and retired Detroit city workers who filed a lawsuit early this month to try to block any bankruptcy.

"The attorney general, he claimed to know nothing about it, like he was deaf, dumb and blind," said Wertheimer, who is paid by the United Auto Workers. "The judge was clearly taken aback."

The largest-ever municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history puts at risk the future of retiree pension and health benefits for thousands of city workers.

Although city retirement benefits are enshrined in Michigan's constitution, Kevyn Orr, the city's state-appointed emergency manager, outlined a plan for creditors that would include significant cuts in pension payments.

In a bid to safeguard the benefits of Detroit retirees, workers and pension funds filed lawsuits challenging the authority of Republican Governor Rick Snyder to authorize a bankruptcy proceeding.

Even after the bankruptcy filing had popped up on a federal court website, Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina still issued a temporary restraining order on any further action by Snyder and Orr in the bankruptcy case pending a hearing, according to a copy of the order obtained by Reuters.

That hearing could come as soon as Friday, according to Aquilina's law clerk.

In the hours following the bankruptcy filing, officials for the UAW and other unions said Snyder and Orr had falsely conveyed the impression a filing would not come soon. UAW general counsel Michael Nicholson said papers filed in Ingham court earlier in the week suggested bankruptcy was not imminent.

In that filing on Monday, the state had said an effort to prevent a bankruptcy filing was "premature, overbroad and constitutionally infirm." The state added that concerns a bankruptcy could wipe out their pensions were "not ripe" and based on events "that may or may not occur."

"The bottom line is the governor is being duplicitous," Nicholson said. "You can prove that by looking at what they filed at court."

Orr disagreed with the assessment, telling reporters during a press conference Thursday that he had negotiated "in good faith."

"Quite frankly, I've bent over backward in the past three plus months to, as I said initially in this very room (on my) first day, to offer an olive branch, to reach out to constituencies," Orr told reporters Thursday.

Under a 2012 Michigan law, the governor must approve a Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy filing for a local government if that move is recommended by the state-appointed emergency manager running that government.

A hearing had been scheduled on Monday in Ingham County Circuit Court on the city workers' and retirees' challenge.

But attorneys for the Detroit's pension funds caught wind of a possible bankruptcy filing and on Wednesday sued Snyder and Orr to prevent them from filing for bankruptcy protection. They asked Judge Aquilina for an emergency hearing Thursday afternoon, Nicholson said.

The judge granted the order barring Snyder from authorizing or supporting the bankruptcy -- but it came minutes after the bankruptcy was filed.

"At the same time, we have Detroit having filed for bankruptcy," Wertheimer said. "Almost simultaneously we have a state court judge issuing an order telling the governor not to authorize the bankruptcy and not to do anything to support anything that is filed."

The state court order may be too late, according to W. Clark Watson, an attorney at Balch & Bingham LLP, who co-wrote a municipal bankruptcy guide for public finance attorneys.

"I think that a state court order enjoining the proceedings in a federal bankruptcy court would be extraordinary, at best," Watson said, adding that federal bankruptcy would trump state law.

He added that Detroit's Thursday filing likely came down to "a race to the courthouse" as the city initially filed only a petition that lacked the reams of documents that usually accompany a filing on the day it reaches court.

"That is not necessarily any disadvantage to the city; just not the orderly process that its lawyers would have otherwise preferred," Watson said.

(Additional reporting by Joseph Lichterman in Detroit and Jonathan Stemple in New York; Editing by Ken Wills)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/detroit-raced-file-bankruptcy-ahead-move-block-042304540.html

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Bernanke written Senate testimony repeats prepared remarks to House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was set to deliver written remarks to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that were virtually identical to prepared remarks he gave the day before to the House Financial Services Committee, a Senate aide said.

Following his statement, the chairman will answer questions from senators about the U.S. economic outlook and monetary policy, in what could be his final congressional testimony.

Bernanke has made no public comment about his future plans, but is widely expected to step down when his term at the Fed's helm ends in January.

(Reporting By Alister Bull; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bernanke-written-senate-testimony-repeats-prepared-remarks-house-143517803.html

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UPDATE 2-Golf-Jaunty Jimenez makes fast start at Muirfield

Thu Jul 18, 2013 10:35am BST

* Spaniard in early birdie blitz

* Jimenez races three shots clear (adds later details)

By Tony Jimenez

GULLANE, Scotland, July 18 (Reuters) - Popular Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez made a barnstorming start to the 142nd British Open on Thursday, rattling in five birdies in the first nine holes to seize an early three-stroke lead on a sunny morning at Muirfield.

The 49-year-old, who returned to competitive golf three months ago after breaking his leg in a skiing accident, opened with a dazzling birdie hat-trick in the third major of the season.

Jimenez's birdie at the first was something of a rarity.

Most of the early starters struggled at the 447-yard hole which was playing against the 10-mph winds and yielded two quadruple-bogey eights and the odd seven and six.

The cigar-smoking, Rioja-loving Jimenez is a crowd favourite all over Europe and he had the crowd on his side by the Firth of Forth after charging to five-under at the turn following further birdies at the fifth and ninth.

Fellow countryman Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Americans Dustin Johnson and Jimmy Walker and German Martin Kaymer were sharing second place on two-under.

Scotland's Lloyd Saltman and American Brooks Koepka were among the players to fall foul of the tricky first.

Saltman, playing in the opening three-ball of the day which teed off at 6.32 local time, made a woeful start as he launched his first two tee shots out of bounds.

Playing partner Peter Senior of Australia, appearing in his 19th Open, had the honour of striking the first shot of the championship but opened with a six.

The third member of the trio, Oliver Fisher of England, restored order with a solid par.

While light winds are predicted throughout the four days, tight, bone-hard fairways and penal, knee-high rough are expected to provide a stern test.

Defending champion Ernie Els was one-over-par after four holes and world number two Rory McIlroy opened with two regulation figures.

U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, partnering Els and American Brandt Snedeker, was level-par.

World number one Tiger Woods begins his title challenge alongside former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell and 2010 British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen at 14.44 local time. (Editing by Ed Osmond)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/UKGolfNews/~3/huh6cV-WSlw/golf-open-idUKL4N0FO14320130718

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Nokia?s smartphone prices are dropping like a rock

Nokia Earnings Analysis Q2 2013

Overall, Nokia?s second-quarter sales and earnings came in above expectations?thanks to the strong network unit performance. But the smartphone unit volume was light at 7.4 million units, about 700,000 below consensus. The real surprise came from the smartphone average sales price (ASP), which plunged from 191 euros to 157 euros in just three months. This implies that sales of the flagship Lumia 920 dropped sharply, while demand moved rapidly towards the cheap Lumia 520. This might be OK in the long run, if Nokia can ship big volumes of low-end smartphones with decent margins.

[More from BGR: iPhone 5S: New leaked photos, purported full specs point to biggest ?S? upgrade ever]

The trouble with the spring quarter was that despite the shift from high-end Lumias to low-end Lumias, the overall smartphone volume came in at 7.4 million units. The sequential growth from 6.1 million to 7.4 million simply isn?t a great trend line considering how cheap the 520 is.

[More from BGR: The Boy Genius Report: iPhone 5S to feature indestructible LiquidMetal case]

At the same time, feature phone unit volume also came in light at?53.7 million units. Despite the rapidly dropping ASP levels, Nokia is now missing volume expectations on all fronts. Feature phone shipments fell from 73.5 million units to under 54 million in one year. This is a rate of decline that has to moderate very soon or Nokia will be in real trouble come next winter.

The positive profit surprise from the infrastructure division gives?Nokia some breathing room, but the spring quarter was pretty bleak when it came to mobile phones.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nokia-smartphone-prices-dropping-rock-112557910.html

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Senators ready to restore lower college loan rates

The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, Sunday night, June 23, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, Sunday night, June 23, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Senators are ready to offer students a better deal on their college loans this fall, but future classes could see higher interest rates.

The Senate could vote as early as Thursday on a bipartisan compromise that heads off a costly increase for returning students. The compromise could be a good deal for students through the 2015 academic year, but then interest rates are expected to climb above where they were when students left campus this spring.

Under the deal, all undergraduates this fall would borrow at 3.85 percent interest rates. Graduate students would have access to loans at 5.4 percent and parents would be able to borrow at 6.4 percent. Those rates would climb as the economy improves and it becomes more expensive for the government to borrow money.

The deal was described by Republican and Democratic aides who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing negotiations by name.

Undergraduates last year borrowed at 3.4 percent or 6.8 percent, depending on their financial need. Graduate students had access to federal loans at 6.8 percent and parents borrowed at 7.9 percent.

The interest rates would be linked to the financial markets, but Democrats won a protection for students that rates would never climb higher than 8.25 percent for undergraduates. Graduate students would not pay rates higher than 9.5 percent and parents' rates would top out at 10.5 percent.

The bipartisan agreement is expected to be the final in a string of efforts that have emerged from near constant work to undo a rate hike that took hold for subsidized Stafford loans on July 1. Rates for new subsidized Stafford loans doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, adding roughly $2,600 to students' education costs.

Lawmakers from both parties called the increase senseless but differed on how to restore the lower rates. Republicans have pushed for a link between interest rates and the financial markets. Obama included that link in his budget proposal, as did House Republicans. Democrats balked, saying it could produce government profits on the backs of borrowers if rates continued to climb.

Leaders from both parties, however, recognized the potential to be blamed for the added costs in the 2014 elections if nothing were done.

Senate aides said a vote on the agreement could come as early as Thursday, although it could be pushed back to the middle of next week.

The House has already passed student loan legislation that also links interest rates to the 10-year Treasury note. The differences between the Senate and House versions are expected to be resolved before students return to campus this fall, and Obama is expected to sign the bill.

Few students had borrowed for fall classes. Students typically do not take out loans until just before they return to campus, and lawmakers have until the August recess to restore the lower rates. The students who had borrowed for summer programs since July 1 would have their rates retroactively reduced.

The deal was estimated to reduce the deficit by $715 million over the next decade.

Lawmakers and their top aides have been tinkering with various proposals ? nudging here, trimming there ? trying to find a deal that avoids added red ink for students and the government alike.

Democrats and Republicans met with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday at the White House. An outline of an agreement seemed to be taking shape Tuesday, with follow-up meetings Wednesday in Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin's office yielding a final agreement.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina were the main negotiators, with Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Durbin filling the role of mediators.

___

Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-07-18-US-Student-Loans/id-63ca076a1dd54d9cb2f221886e58e207

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General who toppled Morsi will hold three jobs in Egypt?s new government

By Nancy A. Youssef

CAIRO -- The Egyptian general who announced that President Mohammed Morsi had been removed from office was named the country?s first deputy prime minister on Tuesday, a sign that the military, despite asserting it had no interest in governing, intended to maintain its influence.

The title is the third one bestowed on Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who will maintain his portfolios as defense minister and head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. If that were not enough to delineate his influence on events here, a photo of the new 34-member Cabinet did. El-Sissi is front and center, to the left of Transitional President Adly Mansour, who el-Sissi appointed. The country?s new prime minister is on Mansour?s right.

Newly named Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, who was appointed last week as the country?s vice president for foreign affairs and is considered the voice of the country?s liberal movement, was not in the photo, reportedly because the vice president is not technically a member of the prime minister?s government.

The nation is deeply divided between a majority that supports the military overthrow of Morsi and backers of Morsi, who demand that he be reinstated. An overnight clash between Morsi supporters marching toward downtown Cairo from the Rabaa district where they?ve gathered for the past two weeks left seven people dead and at least 261 injured, according to the Ministry of Health.

Reports indicated that the Morsi supporters not only fought security forces but were attacked by nearby residents as well.

El-Sissi?s appointment as the deputy to Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi, 76, is likely to keep alive discussion of whether the July 3 action against Morsi was a coup d?etat and undercut the military?s repeated assertion that it would not take part in politics. El-Sissi is now the fifth general in the new government. Earlier, Mansour named three generals to his administration ? the chief of staff, the head of intelligence and the head of security. Lt. Gen. Reda Hafez was sworn in Tuesday as minister of military production.

Since Morsi?s ouster, hundreds of members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested, including the group?s supreme leader, Mohammed Badie, and dozens of others are being sought. The military closed down television news stations that were sympathetic to the Brotherhood, and 10 days ago, more than 50 pro-Morsi protesters were killed in clashes with the military and police under circumstances that remain unclear.

Analysts noted that el-Sissi?s new title came without portfolio, suggesting that his influence will be as great or as little as he wishes.

?Believe me, the title doesn?t matter,? one official close to the new government, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the topic, told McClatchy. ?He is already influential.?

In Washington, where the Obama administration has avoided calling Morsi?s ouster a coup, White House spokesman Jay Carney decline to address el-Sissi?s appointment directly. But he expressed concern about recent developments.

?Not everything that we?ve seen in the last two weeks demonstrates progress toward reconciliation,? Carney said, adding that ?anything that moves Egypt away from reconciliation and towards further polarization is an unfavorable development, and that includes some of the violence we?ve seen as well as some of the arbitrary arrests and detentions that we?ve seen.?

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/16/3503542/general-who-toppled-morsi-will.html

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Tutu wars: London's battle of the ballerinas hots up

This week the English National Ballet announced that it has acquired one of the Royal Ballet?s star dancers, Alina Cojocaru. She and her off- and on-stage partner, Johan Kobborg (the Angelina and Brad of ballet), suddenly announced their intention to leave the Royal Ballet in June, just two days before what would be their final performance on the Royal Opera House stage.

Then, in a second blow to fans and to the company, they said last week that they would miss their scheduled last ever outing with the Royal Ballet. Instead of opening a production of Swan Lake in Tokyo last Saturday, they quit early after a gala performance in Japan last week, blaming injury ? leaving two of the company?s other principals, Steven McRae and Roberta Marquez, to perform twice in one day.

Kobborg posted a message on Facebook after his curtain call, saying he was ?leaving [the Royal Ballet] on good terms,? yet also criticised his ?boss?, the Royal Ballet?s director, Kevin O?Hare, who he said offered ?not a single hug or even a handshake? as a farewell and claimed that the Royal Ballet refused to book him a taxi to the airport. He wrote, ?may I never (dancers excluded) have to ever meet you [the RB] again.? Whether his complaints were founded is not clear but it would not be a surprise if Kobborg?s abrupt departure had left the Royal Ballet feeling equally upset. O?Hare said in response, ?During their time with us, [Alina and Johan] have given many memorable performances both at the Royal Opera House and around the world. We continue to wish them every success in the next phase of their careers.??

Now, just days later, Cojocaru has joined London?s rival company, the ENB. But these have not been the only tutu frills ruffled this year.? At the start of the year an acid attack, allegedly arranged by one of his dancers, put the artistic director of Russia?s Bolshoi Ballet, Sergei Filin, in hospital. It was revealed last month that he is still blind after 18 operations.

Meanwhile, ballet?s top boy Sergei Polunin, a 23-year-old dancer thought to be the best in the world, keeps doing a Charlie Sheen. Last year he resigned from the Royal Ballet, saying he was quitting dancing altogether, and admitted performing under the influence of cocaine. This year, having returned to dance with a new company, the Moscow Stanislavski Ballet, he then disappeared in April just days before opening night of a production at the London Coliseum. Ballet is in a spin.

It was in April last year that Tamara Rojo, one of ballet?s biggest ever stars and former principal dancer at the Royal Ballet, was appointed the new artistic director (and dancer) at the English National Ballet. At the time, she said to me, ?I need to make English National Ballet its own thing and it cannot be second best to [the Royal].?

Now, a year in to the job and having just scored a coup by getting Alina Cojocaru, one of her old Royal Ballet chums, to join her on the other side, she says: ?I don?t feel second best at all.?

?What has been very exciting to discover is the level of collaborations that we have been able to attract in the first year,? she says, listing partnerships with top choreographers and with fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Julien Macdonald, which were no doubt thanks to Rojo?s own involvement in the company.

The acquisition of Cojocaru should bring ?international recognition? to the ENB, says Rojo who is also ?very happy? that next year Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta, ballet?s most famous leading man and Rojo?s former partner at the Royal Ballet, will join her on stage once more in a production of Romeo and Juliet for the ENB at the Royal Albert Hall ? one of their most highly acclaimed partnerships.

These days, Acosta splits his guest performances between the London-based companies and worldwide billings. Last year Rojo also brought Vadim Muntagirov to the ENB as a principal. The Russian has partnered Rojo herself in the past and has been described as a ?dream? dancer.

At the request of its board, Rojo first interviewed for the job of artistic director at the Royal Ballet before applying to the ENB, but then didn?t get the role. Now she is certainly showing them how well she would have done the job.?

Rojo points out that the ENB is ?a very different company with a very different personality and raison d?etre? to the Royal Ballet. But with so many of the Royal?s old faces turning up on ENB stages, it becomes easier to draw comparisons. ?I?m not really interested in a competition,? says Rojo, who adds that, ?When I announced [Alina?s appointment] yesterday the company started to clap and cheer so I think they were rather pleased. Having that level of artist around is inspiring. We all want to be surrounded by the best, learn from the best, to dance with the best.?

Indeed, one of the ENB?s other star principal dancers, Czech Daria Klimentov?, says: ?It?s really great that Alina is joining us at ENB, because she is going to go around the world and take ENB with her.?

A ballet insider suggested the departure of leading players from the Royal Ballet is a consequence of the tough rule of Kevin O?Hare?s predecessor, Dame Monica Mason. In the past, Polunin has said he and Mason ?weren?t friends. I was scared of her?. In May, French dancer Sylvie Guillem, another former Royal Ballet star, said in an interview that Mason, ?was exactly what a director of a company should not be, stupid, frustrated, no vision. That?s why I left when she took over.?

Whatever the truth, O?Hare seems unworried. ?The landscape of a ballet company is always changing,? he says. ?Dancers? careers are relatively short and interesting offers may arise that prompt a dancer to decide it?s time for a new challenge.?

Deborah Bull, former creative director of the Royal Ballet and current director of cultural partnerships at King?s Cultural Institute, agrees. ?Particularly for dancers of Alina?s reputation and talent it?s probably not surprising that within the course of her career she might want to sample the menu at different ballet companies.? She thinks Cojocaru will develop her dancing and thereby avoid comparisons to her time at the Royal Ballet. ?Dancers are not bought as seen, they are growing and evolving artists,? she says.

For O?Hare, ?Change inevitably opens up opportunities for other people and creates the room for a new generation of dancers.?

He is ?thrilled? to have recently appointed Russian dancer, Natalia Osipova as a principal to join in the new season. The former Bolshoi dancer is described as a ?superstar? of ballet.?

Meanwhile, the company has made several recent promotions, such as 25-year-old Brit Melissa Hamilton, who has become a first soloist ? one away from the top spot. It also retains highly regarded dancers such as Sarah Lamb, Lauren Cuthbertson, Edward Watson and Stephen McRae, whose names draw in audiences.?

?There?s definitely room for both ballet companies,? says O?Hare, ?it?s good for dancers, it?s good for choreographers, it?s good for the art form but most importantly it?s good for audiences to have more opportunities to see fantastic performances?... For me, the most important thing is that people are talking about ballet and dance,? he says. And talking they are.

Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/theatre/tutu-wars-londons-battle-of-the-ballerinas-hots-up-8713584.html

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